Everything You Need To Know About How Teens Are Spending Money, What They Like, And Where They Shop

Piper Jaffray released its semiannual report on teen spending
Tuesday.

We dug through the report and pulled out some of the most
interesting facts and charts.

Here's a summary:

1. For the first time in the survey's history, teens are
spending as much on food as they are on clothing.
Starbucks remains the perennial favorite among all teens for
food-and-drink spending, according to the survey. Here's a
breakdown of teen spending by category:

Piper
Jaffray

2. Teens are still
getting most of their money from their parents. This
chart shows parental contributions for average- and upper-income
teens over the years.

Piper
Jaffray

3. Nike remains the top
clothing brand among teens across all income levels.
Forever 21, Action Sports Brands, American Eagle, and Polo Ralph
Lauren also rank among the most popular apparel
brands. Top
footwear brands for upper-income teens are, in order, Nike,
Converse, Sperry Top-Sider, and Steve Madden.

4. Brands that are
losing popularity among teens include Aeropostale, Abercrombie
& Fitch, and Hollister. Here's a graph of the
top-cited brands that teen girls said they no longer wear:

Piper
Jaffray

5. On the flip side, brands that are
starting to get more popular among teen girls include Forever 21,
American Eagle, and Lululemon.

Piper
Jaffray

6. Activewear now comprises 28% of
teens' apparel purchases, up from 6% in 2008. Nike,
Lululemon, Under Armour, and Adidas are the most popular brands
for athletic apparel.

Piper Jaffray

7.
"Athleisure" — casual athletic clothing that can be worn outside
the gym — is now more popular than
denim. Athleisure brands include Adidas, Athleta,
Juicy Couture, Lululemon, and Nike. Denim brands include Abercrombie &
Fitch, American Eagle, Calvin Klein, Guess, Lee, and
Levi’s.

8. For
the first time in the survey's history, Chipotle has eclipsed
Taco Bell as the No. 1 preference for Mexican fare among both
average- and upper-income teens.

9. An increasing number
of teens, particularly males, prefer to shop
online.In
spring 2014, 26% of women and 47% of men preferred to shop online
over visiting stores. That's up from 18% of women and 20% of men
who preferred online shopping a year earlier.

10. Instagram is the most important social
network for teens, followed by Twitter and Facebook,
respectively.